Wireless jamming detection and mitigation

Abstract

A processor-implemented sentry agent implemented at an access point or backend of a wireless network, such as a Wi-Fi LAN, detects jamming by gathering performance data associated with communications in the network, generating a plurality of metrics based on the performance data, and determining whether jamming exists based on the metrics, which may include two or more of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) metric, a packet error rate (PER) metric, a throughput metric, a latency metric, a jitter metric, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) metric, a retransmission rate metric, a bit error rate (BER) metric, a connection stability metric, and a channel utilization metric. In some implementations, the sentry agent generates a jammer-detection variable for each metric based on (i) the metric itself and/or (ii) changes in the metric over time, generates a jammer-detection score based on the jammer-detection variables, and determines whether jamming exists based on the jammer-detection score.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . Apparatus for detecting jamming in a wireless network, the apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor; and   at least one memory storing instructions that, upon being executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
 gather performance data associated with communications in the wireless network; 
 generate a plurality of metrics based on the performance data; and 
 determine whether jamming exists based on the plurality of metrics. 
   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus determines whether the jamming exists by:
 generating a jammer-detection variable based on the metric and/or changes in the metric over time;   generating a jammer-detection score based on the plurality of jammer-detection variables; and   determining whether the jamming exists based on the jammer-detection score.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein at least one jammer-detection variable is generated by performing an additive calculation based on the metric and the changes in the metric over time. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein at least one jammer-detection variable is generated by performing a multiplicative calculation based on the metric and the changes in the metric over time. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein at least one jammer-detection variable is generated by performing a logarithmic calculation based on the metric and the changes in the metric over time. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the jammer-detection score is generated by:
 comparing each jammer-detection variable to a corresponding threshold to determine whether the jammer-detection variable is indicative of jamming; and   the jammer-detection score is the number of jammer-detection variables that are indicative of jamming.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the jammer-detection score is generated by:
 comparing each jammer-detection variable to a corresponding threshold to determine whether the jammer-detection variable is indicative of jamming; and   the jammer-detection score is increased by a value based on how much the corresponding threshold was violated.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the jammer-detection score is generated by:
 comparing each jammer-detection variable to a corresponding threshold to determine whether the jammer-detection variable is indicative of jamming; and   the jammer-detection score is a weighted sum based on the jammer-detection variables that are indicative of jamming and relative importance of those jammer-detection variables to detecting jamming.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the jammer-detection score is generated by directly combining the plurality of jammer-detection variables. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise two or more of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) metric, a packet error rate (PER) metric, a throughput metric, a latency metric, a jitter metric, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) metric, a retransmission rate metric, a bit error rate (BER) metric, a connection stability metric, and a channel utilization metric. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) metric. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a packet error rate (PER) metric. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a throughput metric. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a latency metric. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a jitter metric. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) metric. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a retransmission rate metric. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a bit error rate (BER) metric. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a connection stability metric. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metrics comprise a channel utilization metric. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is an access point of the wireless network. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is a backend of the wireless network. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless network is a Wi-Fi network. 
     
     
         24 . A processor-implemented method for detecting jamming in a wireless network, the method comprising the processor:
 gathering performance data associated with communications in the wireless network;   generating a plurality of metrics based on the performance data; and   determining whether jamming exists based on the plurality of metrics.